The Texas Tribune: Electionshttp://www.texastribune.org/politics/elections/The latest articles about Electionsen-usFri, 31 Jul 2015 18:36:02 -0500A Few Deep Pockets Fuel Cruz, Perry Super PACshttp://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/31/cruz-perry-super-pacs-set-pace-high-dollar-donors/?utm_source=texastribune.org&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections
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<p>Now comes the real money.</p>
<p>The official campaigns of&nbsp;<span>the two Texans running for the White House &mdash; former Gov. Rick Perry and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz &mdash;&nbsp;</span>showed their financial hands earlier this month. Now the super PACs supporting them are formally revealing their bankrolls, and highlighting&nbsp;the extent to which a few super-wealthy backers are financing&nbsp;both presidential efforts.</p>
<p>In federal records released Friday, the trend was especially stark for Cruz, whose allied super PACs collected most of their $38 million haul from enough individuals to count on one hand. Just over half came from two donors long expected to be the super PACs' top financiers: New York hedge-fund magnate Robert Mercer, who gave $11 million, and Houston investor Toby Neugebauer,&nbsp;who donated $10 million.<span style="line-height: 1.35;"><br /></span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.35;">An additional $15 million, however, was linked to two lesser-known contributors: Dan and Farris Wilks, billionaire brothers from West Texas who made their fortunes in the state's fracking industry. Longtime donors to conservative candidates at the state level, the brothers are now bound to draw more of a national spotlight as the forces behind the largest known collective donation to any presidential super PAC so far.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.35;">"I think anybody who knows Dan and Farris Wilks will tell you that these guys came from humble beginnings, and they're humble still," said Luke Macias, a Republican strategist who has worked with the brothers. "And that is probably one of the biggest appeals that they have to Ted Cruz &mdash; that he believes in keeping an America where people who were not born into wealth can make something of themselves and achieve success beyond anything they can possibly imagine."&nbsp;</span></p>
<p>For the pro-Perry super PACs, the disclosures Friday confirmed what the groups have already revealed: They have raked in $6 million from pipeline tycoon Kelcy Warren and $5 million from technology executive Darwin Deason, both from Dallas. After June 30 &mdash; the mid-year fundraising deadline &mdash; Perry supporters set up a third super PAC that they say has already landed $4 million.&nbsp;</p>
<p>"For us, these guys see Gov. Perry...as someone that they have seen in action longer than anybody," said Austin Barbour, a senior adviser to the Opportunity and Freedom super PACs. "He has the longest track record."</p>
<p>"I think that's why they are so uber-committed to him," Barbour added. "I think that as we move into the fall, we'll have other people who step up to commit at similar levels."</p>
<p>To be sure, the super PACs supporting Cruz and Perry were not the only ones Friday to report receiving multimillion-dollar donations. For example, roofing billionaire Diane Hendricks gave $5 million to a super PAC backing Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, while billionaire auto dealer Norman Braman chipped in the same amount to a group boosting U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida.</p>
<p>Yet the pro-Cruz and pro-Perry groups led the way among super PACs leaning almost exclusively on a handful of deep-pocketed backers for their hauls. Ninety-five percent of the overall money the pro-Cruz super PACs have taken in was tied to Mercer, the Wilks brothers and Neugebauer, the son of Republican U.S. Rep.&nbsp;Randy Neugebauer of Lubbock. Meanwhile, Deason and Warren's money made up 86 percent of the total haul by the pro-Perry super PACs during the most recent fundraising period.&nbsp;</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.35;">The high-dollar donations helped the pro-Cruz super PACs raise more money than any others except the Right to Rise PAC, which raked in more than $100 million in support of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. The pro-Bush group provided a contrast to those backing Cruz and Perry, showing a broad base of donors, especially in Texas. It</span><span style="line-height: 1.35;">&nbsp;collected dozens of six-digit donations from its Lone Star State donor base, eight members of which gave $1 million apiece.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p>In any case, the spigot of multimillion-dollar contributions has left campaign finance reformers up in arms, concerned that the unlimited contributions to super PACs are giving too much influence to the wealthy. The super PACs' hauls have vastly eclipsed those of campaigns, which can only accept $2,700 per contributor.</p>
<p>Paul S. Ryan, senior counsel at the Campaign Legal Center, said the expansive use of super PACs in the presidential race has "largely rendered the $2,700 candidate contribution limit meaningless."</p>
<p>"A $10 million check directly to a candidate's super PAC poses just as a big of a threat of corruption as handing a check to a candidate's campaign," Ryan said, predicting that more multimillion-dollar donors are on the way. "That list of billionaires is only going to grow and the result will be a bankrupt democracy."&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>Ryan Murphy contributed to this report.</em></p>
Patrick SvitekFri, 31 Jul 2015 18:36:02 -0500http://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/31/cruz-perry-super-pacs-set-pace-high-dollar-donors/?utm_source=texastribune.org&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20SectionsAnalysis: Perry No Longer the Bright, Shiny Objecthttp://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/31/analysis-perry-out-sync-new-way/?utm_source=texastribune.org&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections
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<p>Pity <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/rick-perry/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Rick Perry</a>.</p>
<p>Four years ago, he was unprepared and soaring in the polls for the Republican presidential nomination. Today he&rsquo;s prepared and unpopular, scrambling for enough support to win his own podium in this year's first debate.</p>
<p>The constituencies that made him a contender four years ago are still there. He&rsquo;s appealing to social and movement conservatives, to the Tea Party, to the country clubbers, the evangelicals &mdash; just about every variety of Republican you can conjure. But the campaign four years ago wasn&rsquo;t a building block for his current candidacy so much as an impediment.</p>
<p>You remember <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/2011/11/09/perry-stumbles-bad-michigan-debate/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">that &lsquo;oops&rsquo; moment</a> &mdash;&nbsp;everybody does &mdash; but that&rsquo;s not what sunk the ship last time.</p>
<p>His fall began seven weeks before with his unpopular position and unpolished answer on the Texas version of the Dream Act. In-state tuition at state colleges and universities is available to undocumented immigrant teens who graduate from Texas high schools, have been in the country for three years, applied for citizenship and have the grades and test scores to win admission to those schools.</p>
<p>It was popular with Texas conservatives when it passed more than a decade ago. They liked the idea of turning people who might be a drag on the economy into people who would contribute after going to college.</p>
<p>But in <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/2011/12/19/perry-revisits-undocumented-students-state-tuition/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">a key debate</a> leading up to the 2012 elections, Perry didn&rsquo;t leave it at that. Instead, he scolded the other GOP candidates for challenging the policy: &ldquo;If you say that we should not educate children who come into our state for no other reason than that they've been brought there through no fault of their own, I don't think you have a heart,&rdquo; Perry said.</p>
<p>What made sense in Texas didn&rsquo;t make sense to Republicans elsewhere. A more prepared candidate might have known how to sell that, but not Perry.</p>
<p>At this point four years ago, Perry was still a couple of weeks away from declaring his candidacy for president after playing hard to get for months. He first said he would not run, then repeated through the spring that running for national office wasn&rsquo;t on his agenda. He finally jumped in when it became evident that Republican voters, unexcited about their choices, were willing to shop around.</p>
<p>Perry seemed to have it all &mdash;&nbsp;or at least to have something the other candidates hadn&rsquo;t exhibited. But he wasn&rsquo;t kidding with that hard-to-get thing. <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/george-w-bush/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">George W. Bush</a> spent months studying up on presidential material when he was governor, knowing from family experience that there are a million ways to lose a national primary.</p>
<p>Perry didn&rsquo;t. He made it farther than someone new to presidential politics might have &mdash; almost three decades as a public official helped &mdash;&nbsp;but it quickly became clear that he wasn&rsquo;t ready to sit in the Oval Office, as much as some voters wanted him to fit in.</p>
<p>Now he is undistracted by a job at the top of state government. He has studied. He&rsquo;s not the richest candidate but probably has the money to make it into the first quarter of 2016 and the early primaries, including Texas and some other states where he would have to do well to win.</p>
<p>But he&rsquo;s not the freshest thing on the shelf this time. His last run tagged him as unintelligent. The glasses help. So does the homework he&rsquo;s done. His speech on the economy this week was seriously received by the pundits and policy types.</p>
<p>The bright shiny objects, however, are elbowing him out of the limelight. Donald Trump and <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/ted-cruz/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Ted Cruz</a>, to name a couple, have grabbed public attention this year the way Perry did four years ago.</p>
<p>It&rsquo;s hard for anyone else to get oxygen. For candidates like Jeb Bush, that&rsquo;s not necessarily a bad thing. The people in the lead are the targets for the people in the back. Unlike Perry, Bush isn&rsquo;t far enough back to worry about it right now.</p>
<p>The former Texas governor got some mixed good news when one of his two indictments was knocked down. But he&rsquo;s still under indictment, a condition troubling and distracting during a political race. It offers voters a reason to strike him from the giant Republican pack.</p>
<p>The upside is that there is still time, especially if he can get on the debate stage and if it is another candidate&rsquo;s year to play the fool. Debates offer Perry a critical chance to convince Republicans that this time is different.</p>
<p>He couldn&rsquo;t survive in the spotlight four years ago. He won&rsquo;t survive without it this time.</p>
Ross RamseyFri, 31 Jul 2015 06:00:00 -0500http://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/31/analysis-perry-out-sync-new-way/?utm_source=texastribune.org&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20SectionsStraus Settles into National Role for Campaign Grouphttp://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/31/straus-settles-national-role-campaign-group/?utm_source=texastribune.org&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections
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<p>Texas House Speaker Joe Straus is settling into a new role as the second in command of a national group devoted to electing more Republicans to state legislatures, a position that promises to boost his political profile outside the state.</p>
<p>On Thursday, the Republican Legislative Campaign Committee unveiled its plans for the 2015-2016 election cycle backed by a record $40 million budget. The group is focusing on six states where Democrats and Republicans each control one statehouse chamber: Colorado, Kentucky, Washington, Iowa, Minnesota and New Mexico.</p>
<p>The campaign committee, an arm of the Republican State Leadership Committee, also has its sights set on chipping away at Democratic supermajorities in states that recently elected GOP governors, such as Illinois and Massachusetts.&nbsp;In a statement Thursday, Straus nodded to that goal, saying, "Republican legislators have earned the support of voters in states across the country, including some states that were once reliably blue."</p>
<p>The group's efforts probably won't involve safely Republican Texas, but one of the state's three highest-ranking elected officials will nonetheless be at the center of them. That will especially be true next year, when Straus is set to take over as chairman of the committee from Iowa House Speaker Kraig Paulsen.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Politically, the position signals that Straus is not going anywhere, despite nagging criticism from some activists that he is insufficiently conservative. That criticism sometimes overshadows Straus' stature among members of his party outside Texas, according to Mark Jones, a political science professor at Rice University.&nbsp;</p>
<p><span>"It's a recognition of the high esteem in which Speaker Straus is held by Republicans nationwide," Jones said of the campaign committee post. "I think there's sometimes a tendency in Texas...to view Speaker Straus as way on the left, but the reality is that his position, his ideological and policy position, is more in line with Republicans at the national level than many movement conservatives who are very successful in Texas."</span></p>
<p>Straus <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/2015/06/03/straus-files-re-election/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections" target="_blank">has already declared</a> his intent run for speaker again during the 2017 session, which would be his fifth term wielding the gavel. He has a primary challenger next year for House District 121 in Bexar County: Jeff Judson, former president of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, an Austin-based conservative think tank.</p>
<p>Straus allies see the committee post as a sign of his growing influence in Austin, where the House's GOP majority has grown by as many as 25 members at a time under his leadership.</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.35;">"The strength of his leadership here in the state is only growing and, because that, he&rsquo;s going to be able to call the shots going forward," said state Rep. <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/jason-villalba/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Jason Villalba</a> of Dallas, who has previously worked with the Republican State Leadership Committee to help elect more minorities to state-level offices.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.35;"><em>Disclosure: Rice University and the Texas Public Policy Foundation are corporate sponsors of The Texas Tribune.&nbsp;A complete list of Tribune donors and sponsors can be viewed&nbsp;<a href="http://www.texastribune.org/support-us/donors-and-members/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">here</a>.</em></span></p>
Patrick SvitekFri, 31 Jul 2015 06:00:00 -0500http://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/31/straus-settles-national-role-campaign-group/?utm_source=texastribune.org&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20SectionsPerry's Debate Berth Hangs in the Balancehttp://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/30/perry-scrambles-earn-berth-first-debate/?utm_source=texastribune.org&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections
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<img src="//s3.amazonaws.com/static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/07/29/Perry-Explains_jpg_312x1000_q100.jpg" alt="Former Gov. Rick Perry on Wednesday delivered a speech on Wall Street reform in New York. The Republican presidential candidate vowed that if elected, the United States &quot;will not bail out a single bank on Wall Street.&quot;">
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<p><a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/rick-perry/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Rick Perry</a> has had a good July, all things considered.</p>
<p>The former governor and Republican presidential candidate earned plaudits for delivering thoughtful speeches on <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/29/perry-wall-street-reform-speech/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections" target="_blank">financial reform</a> and <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/02/perry-addresses-race-washington-speech/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections" target="_blank">race relations</a>, seized the opportunity to <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/02/perry-emerges-leading-anti-trump-voice-gop/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections" target="_blank">tussle</a> with bombastic foe Donald Trump and <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/24/appeals-court-rejects-one-count-perry-indictment/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections" target="_blank">parted ways</a> with half of the abuse-of-power indictment hanging over him.</p>
<p>Yet his national polling remains stuck in the low single digits, numbers that in any other presidential election cycle could be shrugged off by a campaign as irrelevant this early in the process. This time around, they mean Perry is on the cusp of eligibility for his party's first official debate, a harrowing position for any candidate.</p>
<p>For Perry especially, the polling could endanger his highest-profile opportunity yet to show off what he has been telling everyone who will listen over the past several months: He is not the Rick Perry of the 2012 race. That Rick Perry, he has argued, was altogether unready for the rigors of a presidential campaign, not the least of which were the debates.</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.35;">With a week to go, Perry's team is confident he won't miss the opportunity.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">"Number one, we fully expect to be on the debate stage," Perry campaign manager Jeff Miller said Wednesday. "Number two, when people see the governor on the debate stage, they&rsquo;re going to be incredibly impressed.&rdquo;</span></p>
<p>On Thursday, Perry's debate berth continued to hang in the balance.&nbsp;Fox News, which is hosting the Aug. 6 event in Cleveland, has said it will base eligibility on whoever is in the top 10 of an average of the five most recent national polls as of 4 p.m. Tuesday. A Quinnipiac University survey <a href="http://www.quinnipiac.edu/news-and-events/quinnipiac-university-poll/national/release-detail?ReleaseID=2264" target="_blank">released</a> Thursday &mdash; a poll expected to be included in the network's calculations &mdash; left Perry in 11th place in <em>The&nbsp;Washington Post</em>'s <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/07/30/kasich-in-perry-out-and-trump-trump-trump-the-latest-on-next-weeks-debate/" target="_blank">running estimate</a> of which candidates would qualify.</p>
<p>"He is right on the bubble," Quinnipiac pollster Tim Malloy said of Perry. "I think he's a man who wants redemption. He's definitely done his homework to get ready for this."&nbsp;</p>
<p>If Perry does not make the cut, he will be able to participate in a forum earlier that day in Cleveland with other candidates who did not crack the top 10. Unlike some lower-tier hopefuls, Perry has declined to criticize the debate criteria (former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania) or make it a rallying point for supporters (former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina).&nbsp;</p>
<p>"You know, rules are rules," Perry said last month on MSNBC. "I know how to play by the rules."</p>
<p>The debate criteria has already scrambled the dynamics of the GOP contest, forcing some candidates to prioritize growing their national profile earlier than usual. A group of pro-Perry super PACs is spending $1 million on a cross-country ad campaign, hoping to boost his national standing ahead of the first debate.&nbsp;</p>
<p>"That&rsquo;s one of the reasons we&rsquo;re doing it, but it&rsquo;s not the only reason," said Austin Barbour, a senior adviser to the super PACs. "I feel like we&rsquo;re in this thing for the long run."&nbsp;</p>
<p>As for the first debate, Barbour said he views it as just one opportunity out of many for Perry to connect with voters, particularly in early-voting Iowa, over the next several months. "It's not life or death if he's not up there," Barbour added.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Perry's also looked to nudge up his national poll numbers with a steady stream of cable TV appearances, most of them on Fox News. Perry, whose campaign recently added former Fox News producer Lexi Stemple, has appeared 24 times on Fox News since he launched his campaign, fourth among his GOP rivals, <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/fox-republican-debate-lowers-threshold-120748.html" target="_blank">according</a> to a tally released Tuesday to&nbsp;Politico.</p>
<p>The other Texan running for president, U.S. Sen. <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/ted-cruz/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Ted Cruz</a>, appears to be a safe bet for the first debate, placing eighth in <em>The</em> <em>Washington Post</em>'s analysis.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Wherever the candidates wind up next week, South Carolina GOP chairman Matt Moore said he is not jumping to conclusions about any candidate's viability. &nbsp;</p>
<p>"I don't write off any candidates who are on the stage or not at this point," said Moore, who as a state Republican Party chairman is neutral in the primary. "I do think that if Gov. Perry's on stage, he'll be vastly improved from the previous election cycle."<strong><br /></strong></p>
<p>Moore alluded to some of the recent attention Perry has been receiving, including for a speech he gave this month that offered a frank assessment of the GOP's history with black voters. Perry delivered another meaty speech Wednesday in which he pitched a host of Wall Street reforms while linking the 2008 financial crisis to Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton.</p>
<p>"I expect him to shine" on the debate stage, Moore said of Perry. "He very recently has found his voice."&nbsp;</p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span style="line-height: 1.35;">Perry's campaign was keeping quiet this week about how he was gearing up for the first debate, assuming he makes it. The former governor, however, has been open about his presidential&nbsp;</span>preparation<span style="line-height: 1.35;">&nbsp;over the past several months, touting his participation in wonky policy briefings and frequent trips to the early-voting states.</span></span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">If he qualifies for the first debate, Perry is all but guaranteed to have to contend with Trump, currently the national front-runner for the Republican nomination. The real estate mogul has relentlessly mocked Perry as weak on border security, criticism the former governor has returned with a <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/18/perry-wants-trump-out-presidential-race/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections" target="_blank">call</a> for Trump to leave the race over an attack on U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and a speech eviscerating Trump as a "cancer on conservatism."</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">While there is no doubt potential for fireworks between the two &mdash; on Wednesday alone Perry challenged Trump to a pull-up contest &mdash; Miller said the former governor's team is not sweating the radioactive businessman in the run-up to the first debate. In fact, Miller added, "we look forward to it."</span></p>
Patrick SvitekThu, 30 Jul 2015 13:53:36 -0500http://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/30/perry-scrambles-earn-berth-first-debate/?utm_source=texastribune.org&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20SectionsPerry Launches Populist Offensive Against Big Bankshttp://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/29/perry-wall-street-reform-speech/?utm_source=texastribune.org&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections
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<img src="//s3.amazonaws.com/static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/07/29/Perry-Explains_jpg_312x1000_q100.jpg" alt="Former Gov. Rick Perry on Wednesday delivered a speech on Wall Street reform in New York. The Republican presidential candidate vowed that if elected, the United States &quot;will not bail out a single bank on Wall Street.&quot;">
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<p>Sounding a deeply populist note, former Gov. <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/rick-perry/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Rick Perry</a> on Wednesday launched an offensive against banks that are too big to fail, making a pitch for Wall Street reform while tying the 2008 financial crisis to Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton.</p>
<p>Warning that the "next crash is on the horizon," Perry used a New York speech to position himself as the only candidate with the economic record to to reverse an era of Wall Street run amok, enabled by complicit politicians.&nbsp;</p>
<p>"If you elect me president, I will reform Wall Street and I will reform Washington," Perry declared, later promising not to "bail out a single bank on Wall Street."</p>
<p>Perry had particularly harsh words for Clinton, whom he said must answer for her husband's economic policies as she wages her own 2016 campaign. In an extensive critique, Perry linked the 2008 housing collapse to Bill Clinton's efforts to expand the ranks of homeowners in the United States.&nbsp;</p>
<p>"If Secretary Clinton wants to take credit for the 'Clinton economy,' then she must defend the destructive home ownership policies advocated by her husband that pushed shoddy loans to people couldn't afford them, and the economic chaos that pursued," Perry said.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The speech, held at the ritzy Yale Club in Manhattan, featured some of Perry's most populist language since he launched his campaign.&nbsp;</p>
<p>"After the bailouts of 2008, Americans came to believe that Wall Street is out for itself. That the game is rigged. That the wealthy and the well-connected have insurmountable advantages over average Americans who simply work hard and play by the rules," Perry said, conjuring the specter of a "special political class that spends large sums of money to wield influence, to protect entrenched interests, to advocate for special favors at the expense of taxpayers and the general public."&nbsp;</p>
<p>Among Perry's ideas to overhaul Wall Street's ways: strengthening a new rule from the Federal Reserve that requires America's biggest banks to maintain "financial cushions in case of another downturn." He also proposed that large financial institutions disentangle some of their services, reducing the risk of a full-blown collapse in times of crisis.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Perry put a personal touch on his proposals, advocating for community banks like the one whose board he served on in Haskell, Texas, to be exempt from financial regulations under the Dodd-Frank Act. Along with that, he pushed for more congressional oversight of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which was created by Dodd-Frank.</p>
<p>Throughout the speech, Perry took swipes at Democrats, including Clinton, for having a backward view of the future of the U.S. economy.&nbsp;</p>
<p>"Democrats have a 1915 view of the 2015 economy," Perry said, accusing them of building a costly "toll bridge to the 21st century."</p>
<p>He specifically went after Clinton for her support for raising capital gains taxes, noting that she once opposed the idea and that her husband cut the taxes in 1990s. Tapping into disagreements within the Democratic Party, Perry suggested Clinton now backs raising capital gains taxes as a result of "Warrenism," a reference to Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren,&nbsp;who has urged her fellow Democrats to be tougher on big banks. &nbsp;</p>
<p>Perry also used the speech to reiterate his own economic record, touting Texas' job growth during a Great Recession that wreaked havoc on the housing markets in other states. He specifically cited a recent report that attributed some of the job growth in Florida under then-Gov. Jeb Bush to a housing bubble. Perry has been sparring with Bush over the mantle of job-creating governor.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Unlike his GOP foes, Perry said he was not among the "Washington insiders running for president." And in his latest jab at the several senators vying for the Republican nomination, Perry pointed to his experience as a governor "who was not one vote out of 100, but one out of one when a bill came to his desk."&nbsp;</p>
<p>Perry's appearance at the Yale Club was otherwise largely focused on policy, though he briefly weighed in on a topic currently consuming the 2016 race: the candidacy of bombastic billionaire Donald Trump. Asked about Trump's most recent insults against him, Perry quipped to a reporter,&nbsp;"Let's get a pull-up bar out here and see who can do the most pull-ups."</p>
<p>Perry's speech was organized by the Committee to Unleash Prosperity, a group of conservative economists long supportive of the former governor. The committee, which is not endorsing in the 2016 race, has been hosting forums with GOP candidates in New York.</p>
Patrick SvitekWed, 29 Jul 2015 14:28:10 -0500http://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/29/perry-wall-street-reform-speech/?utm_source=texastribune.org&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20SectionsCruz Taps Fleming as Campaign's Texas Tea Party Chairwomanhttp://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/28/cruz-taps-fleming-texas-tea-party-chairwoman/?utm_source=texastribune.org&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections
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<p><a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/ted-cruz/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Ted Cruz</a>'s presidential campaign has recruited one of his home state's most prolific Tea Party activists, JoAnn Fleming.</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.35;">Fleming, a longtime Cruz ally who backed his underdog bid for the U.S. Senate, will serve as the Texas Tea Party chairwoman of his White House run, according to a campaign source. A formal announcement was expected Tuesday afternoon.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span>"JoAnn is one of Texas&rsquo; most experienced activists and has a long record of leading the fight for conservative principles," Cruz said in a statement to The Texas Tribune. "She has been a supporter from the very beginning when no one thought I had a shot at even becoming a senator, and through her hard work and dedication we proved the establishment wrong."&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span>"Under her leadership, I am certain we will see a groundswell of support from the grassroots in Texas, along with an army of volunteers and supporters to help us be very competitive in our home state," added Cruz, whose campaign is based in Houston.</span></p>
<p><span>Fleming is the executive director of Grassroots America, a Tyler-based conservative group whose backing is coveted in GOP primaries throughout the state. She also has chaired for two terms the Legislature's <span>TEA Party Caucus Advisory Committee.&nbsp;</span>She most recently led Lt. Gov. <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/dan-patrick/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Dan Patrick</a>'s now-defunct Grassroots Advisory Board.&nbsp;</span>&nbsp;</p>
Patrick SvitekTue, 28 Jul 2015 13:34:42 -0500http://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/28/cruz-taps-fleming-texas-tea-party-chairwoman/?utm_source=texastribune.org&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20SectionsAnalysis: 2016, Like 2008, Could See Voter Turnout Spike in Texashttp://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/27/analysis-2016-could-see-voter-turnout-spike/?utm_source=texastribune.org&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections
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<p>Texas is known for low voter turnout. Fewer than 2 million of the state's 19 million adults voted in last year's primaries, and only 4.7 million voted in the general elections.</p>
<p>Turnout is better &mdash; not great, but better &mdash; in presidential election years. In 2012, the general election in Texas drew nearly 8 million voters to the polls, or about 44 percent of the state&rsquo;s adults. Voters didn&rsquo;t turn in a stellar performance in that year&rsquo;s primary elections, in spite of a spirited Republican U.S. Senate race between Lt. Gov. <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/david-dewhurst/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">David Dewhurst</a> and <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/ted-cruz/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Ted Cruz</a>, at the time a political greenhorn who was widely expected to finish at the back of a nine-candidate field. (Former Dallas Mayor <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/tom-leppert/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Tom Leppert</a> and <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/craig-james/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Craig James</a>, who made his name as a football running back, were the other two major candidates.)</p>
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<div class="photo_links"><a class="lightbox enlarge" href="http://s3.amazonaws.com/static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/07/21/turnout_charts.002.jpg">Enlarge</a>&nbsp;<cite>Emily Albracht</cite></div>
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<p>They never brought voters to a frenzy, if turnout is any measure of frenzies. And that year&rsquo;s race for president was a nonstarter in both Texas primaries; Democrats were happy with President Obama, and Republicans had already settled on Mitt Romney, who hauled in 69.1 percent of the primary vote in Texas.</p>
<p>The state&rsquo;s eligible voters are unmotivated, to be sure, but more of them show up when there's a fight, and they&rsquo;re likely to see one in the 2016 primaries.</p>
<p>At this moment, well over a dozen candidates are seriously chasing the Republican nomination for president. And some of them will still be competing when the Texas primaries roll around in March.</p>
<p>Texas, uncharacteristically, could have a real say as to which Republican candidate gets the nomination. The generosity of large contributors to super PACs can keep lagging candidates alive even if they haven&rsquo;t amassed a large number of supporters and small donors. One or two rich people can keep a candidate on the trail until the primary voting starts in 2016; not so long ago, many long-shot candidates would be culled before the voters had to make any decisions.</p>
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<div class="photo_links"><a class="lightbox enlarge" href="http://s3.amazonaws.com/static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/07/21/turnout_charts.001.jpg">Enlarge</a>&nbsp;<cite>Emily Albracht</cite></div>
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<p>A consequential Texas primary was probably ensured by the sheer number of contestants. But the campaign finance quirk that keeps candidates alive into next year removes any doubt: Texas Republicans will have a say in who gets the nomination.</p>
<p>History suggests that will boost turnout. That&rsquo;s what happened with the Democrats in 2008. That year, nearly 2.9 million Texans showed up to choose between Hillary Clinton and Obama &mdash; the first time more than 2 million Democrats showed up for a primary since 1972. Their recent history was worse: Democratic turnout didn&rsquo;t break 1 million in any of the three presidential primary years that preceded 2008. And in the following primary in 2012, the Democrats reverted to normal, with 590,164 voters.</p>
<p>Democrats showed up for a fight in 2008, and their excitement boosted Republican turnout that year, too, even though other states&rsquo; primaries had already made it clear that that year&rsquo;s GOP nomination would go to U.S. Sen. John McCain.</p>
<p>Maybe 2016 will be the year for a Republican boost. Voters are almost certainly going to see candidates battling for the nomination, touring the state and squeezing in as many commercials as TV will allow. GOP primary turnout in 2008 reached 1.4 million and surpassed that mark four years later.</p>
<p>Here we go again.</p>
Ross RamseyMon, 27 Jul 2015 06:00:00 -0500http://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/27/analysis-2016-could-see-voter-turnout-spike/?utm_source=texastribune.org&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20SectionsCruz and Cornyn Clash on Senate Floorhttp://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/26/cruz-and-cornyn-engage-senate-floor/?utm_source=texastribune.org&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections
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<p>WASHINGTON &mdash;&nbsp;When <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/john-cornyn/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">John Cornyn</a> was installed as U.S. Senate majority whip in January, he was optimistic that his party's takeover of the chamber would translate into harmony between the establishment wing of the GOP that he represents and the Tea Party wing that includes his junior senator from Texas, <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/ted-cruz/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Ted Cruz</a>.</p>
<p>But that has not happened, and on Sunday the two men shared a strikingly tough exchange for two senators not just from the same party, but the same state.&nbsp;</p>
<p>&ldquo;I have listened to the comments of my colleague, the junior senator from Texas, both last week and this week, and I would have to say that he is mistaken,&rdquo; Cornyn said.</p>
<p>At issue:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/24/in-stunning-display-cruz-calls-mcconnell-a-liar/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Cruz on Friday&nbsp;accused</a>&nbsp;Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell &mdash; a Cornyn ally &mdash; of telling a &ldquo;flat-out lie&rdquo; to Senate Republicans over movement of legislation&nbsp;<a href="http://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/16/texans-ex-im-highway-bill/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">related to an obscure, controversial federal agency</a>&nbsp;called the Export-Import Bank.</p>
<p>For Senate standards, it was a savaging comment.&nbsp;</p>
<p>In his capacity as the Republicans'&nbsp;No. 2<strong>-</strong>ranking senator, Cornyn is a member of the party leadership that Cruz has taken to assailing on a daily basis in the last month. Since Cornyn became majority whip,&nbsp;Cruz has announced his presidential candidacy, escalated his courtship of the anti-establishment conservative bloc of the GOP,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.texastribune.org/2015/06/23/trade-clears-senate-hurdle-despite-cruz-backing-ou/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">proved to be an unreliable vote</a>&nbsp;on consequential legislation and&nbsp;directed veiled criticism at Cornyn in his recent memoir.&nbsp;</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.35;">The </span>Senate's<strong style="line-height: 1.35;">&nbsp;</strong><span style="line-height: 1.35;">rare Sunday afternoon session</span><strong style="line-height: 1.35;">&nbsp;</strong>followed<strong style="line-height: 1.35;">&nbsp;</strong><span style="line-height: 1.35;">two days of outrage&nbsp;from Capitol Hill Republicans toward Cruz for his comments about McConnell. Cruz defended his actions on the floor.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p>&ldquo;No member of this body should engage in ad hominem attacks directed at any member of this body, be they a Republican or be they a Democrat,&rdquo;&nbsp;Cruz&nbsp;said.</p>
<p>&ldquo;At the same time, I would note that it is entirely consistent with decorum, and with the nature of this body traditionally as the world&rsquo;s greatest deliberative body, to speak the truth,&rdquo; he added. &ldquo;Speaking the truth about actions is entirely consistent with civility."</p>
<p>Cornyn took the floor immediately after Cruz. He backed McConnell&rsquo;s procedural maneuvers that stifled a Cruz amendment on Iran. And Cornyn questioned the legitimacy of Cruz&rsquo;s charges against McConnell.&nbsp;</p>
<p>&ldquo;If the majority leader had somehow misrepresented to 54 senators what the facts are with regards to the Ex-Im Bank, I would suspect that you would find other voices joining that of the junior senator, but I hear no one else making such a similar accusation.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;There was no misrepresentation made by the majority leader on the Ex-Im Bank,&rdquo; Cornyn added.</p>
<p>Neither man addressed the<strong>&nbsp;</strong>other directly in his<strong>&nbsp;</strong>remarks.&nbsp;<span style="line-height: 1.35;">But it is a detour from Cornyn's hopeful comments seven months ago.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p>"All of us have been enormously frustrated by being in the minority and by Harry Reid not allowing us to do our job and to represent our states,&rdquo; Cornyn said in January of the former majority leader.</p>
<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s going to be different," he added. &ldquo;I think that it will be an enormous relief valve for pressure that&rsquo;s been built up over the last few years."</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.35;">In an interview with&nbsp;</span>The Texas Tribune<span style="line-height: 1.35;">&nbsp;last month, Cruz addressed whether his criticisms of Senate leadership included Cornyn.</span></p>
<p>&ldquo;John Cornyn and I are friends,&rdquo; Cruz said. &ldquo;We have a good working relationship together. We&rsquo;ve worked together for Texas on many issues, and I expect we continue to do so for years to come.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;When I speak about GOP leadership, that is deliberately written in the generic, rather than in individuals,&rdquo; he added.&nbsp;&ldquo;Because it gives any individual senator the opportunity through his or her actions to behave differently. It gives the opportunity for a change of course.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Cornyn&nbsp;<a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/ted-cruz-2016-book-gop-senator-challenge-120067.html">later questioned charges</a>&nbsp;Cruz made in the book.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The Senate was in session Sunday to address several amendments related to a must-pass bill to replenish the Highway Trust Fund, set to expire on Friday.</p>
<p>In a resounding vote, the Senate voted to push the Ex-Im Bank through procedural hurdles and will likely attach its reauthorization to the highway bill.<span style="text-decoration: line-through;"><br /></span></p>
<p>The move sets up a clash between the House and the Senate over the legislation. Several powerful Ex-Im Bank critics on the House side gave every indication they intend to fight against the bank tooth and nail.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Two chief Republican critics are from Texas: House Financial Services Chairman <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/jeb-hensarling/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Jeb Hensarling</a> of Dallas and Republican Study Committee Chairman <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/bill-flores/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Bill Flores</a> of Bryan.&nbsp;</p>
Abby LivingstonSun, 26 Jul 2015 19:27:19 -0500http://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/26/cruz-and-cornyn-engage-senate-floor/?utm_source=texastribune.org&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20SectionsAG's Office Probing Valley Election Fraud Claimshttp://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/24/lawyer-ags-office-probing-election-contest-in/?utm_source=texastribune.org&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections
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<p>The Texas attorney general's office has opened an investigation into a contested election in the Rio Grande Valley won by a client of Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa two years ago, according to a lawyer for the losing candidate.</p>
<p>Houston attorney Jerad Najvar said Thursday that Attorney General <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/ken-paxton/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Ken Paxton</a>'s office is acting on a criminal complaint filed by his client, Letty Lopez. She lost to Lupe Rivera, Hinojosa's client, by 16 votes in a November 2013 election for a spot on the Weslaco City Commission.</p>
<p>More than a year ago, a visiting judge ruled that some of the votes for Rivera were illegally cast and ordered a new election held as soon as possible, according to local media. Legal wrangling has kept the new election from taking place, and Rivera has remained in office while Hinojosa has defended him in court.&nbsp;</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.35;">In an interview Friday, Hinojosa said he had no comment about the investigation but questioned the motivations of Najvar, a prominent Republican lawyer who specializes in campaign finance and political law. The case has no doubt provided fodder to the Texas GOP, which has latched on to reports of corruption in the Valley to accuse Democrats of hypocrisy on voting rights.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p>Lopez's challenge made its way to the attorney general's office via the secretary of state's office, with which she first filed a complaint alleging voter fraud in the original election.&nbsp;In a letter dated May 13, the secretary of state's office asked the attorney general's office to get involved, saying Lopez's complaint "demonstrates that it is likely unlawful voting occurred."</p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">&ldquo;After review of the submitted documentation, we believe the information regarding offenses warrants a submission for criminal investigation to the Texas Attorney General as the specific allegations described involve potential misdemeanor and felony offenses," Keith Ingram, director of elections in the secretary of state's office, wrote to David Maxwell, Paxton's director of law enforcement.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p>Asked about the investigation earlier this month, a Paxton spokeswoman would neither confirm nor deny it.&nbsp;</p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span style="line-height: 1.35;">Hinojosa's involvement in the election contest has become a focus of the Republican Party of Texas and the Republican National Committee. Both organizations have used it against Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton, who delivered a speech last month in Houston that called voter fraud a "phantom epidemic."&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span>"The fact that Chairman Hinojosa would spend nearly two years executing a legal strategy that disenfranchises voters, while at the same time possibly profiting off of voter fraud is reprehensible,&rdquo; Texas GOP spokesman Aaron Whitehead said in a statement. &ldquo;</span><span>It is certainly Chairman Hinojosa&rsquo;s right to make a mockery of the Texas Democratic Party, however Texans deserve better than the leader of a political party making a mockery out of our electoral process."</span></p>
<p><span>The Texas Democratic Party fired back Friday, bringing up a part of the state GOP platform that calls for the repeal of the federal Voting Rights Act. Manny Garica, deputy executive director of the Texas Democratic Party, also pointed to the legal drama following in the Texas GOP's own ranks, including Paxton and former Gov. Rick Perry.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span><span>"It isn&rsquo;t surprising that the Republican Party is resorting to smear tactics to desperately divert attention away from weeks of embarrassing headlines about Republican corruption and racism," Garcia said in a statement. "<span>The Texas GOP ought to take some time to clean house."</span></span></span></p>
Patrick SvitekFri, 24 Jul 2015 19:34:44 -0500http://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/24/lawyer-ags-office-probing-election-contest-in/?utm_source=texastribune.org&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20SectionsFormer TPPF President Announces Challenge to Straushttp://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/24/former-tppf-president-announces-challenge-straus/?utm_source=texastribune.org&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections
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<p><sup>Editor's Note: This story has been updated with comment from House Speaker Joe Straus.</sup></p>
<p>Jeff Judson, the former president of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, announced Friday he is launching a long-shot challenge to unseat House Speaker <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/joe-straus/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Joe Straus</a>, a perennial target of conservative activists.&nbsp;</p>
<p><span>"This was not an easy decision because I know what it is going to take to win," Judson wrote to the State Republican Executive Committee, citing Straus' $8 million war chest. "But I am confident that I can win, and have received a tremendous amount of encouragement from people within the district and across Texas. I intend to raise whatever funds are necessary, and am confident I can do so."</span></p>
<p><span>Judson faces a steep climb against Straus, a San Antonio Republican who has already declared his intention to run for speaker again. Despite complaints from some in his party that he is&nbsp;insufficiently&nbsp;conservative, Straus has previously cruised to victory in GOP primaries for House District 121 in Bexar County.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p>"The people of District 121 know Joe Straus and continue to re-elect him because he is an effective leader who consistently delivers conservative results," Straus spokesman Jason Embry said in a statement Friday.&nbsp;</p>
<p><span>Before leading TPPF, a conservative think tank based in Austin, Judson worked in President George H. W. Bush's administration and on Capitol Hill for the late Sen. John Tower as well as Reps. Tom Loeffler and Tom DeLay. His bid was first reported by the Quorum Report.</span></p>
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Patrick SvitekFri, 24 Jul 2015 18:00:02 -0500http://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/24/former-tppf-president-announces-challenge-straus/?utm_source=texastribune.org&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20SectionsRoundup: Sandra Bland, GOP Sweet 16http://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/24/video-roundup-sandra-bland-gop-sweet-16/?utm_source=texastribune.org&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections
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<p>In the Roundup: State officials vow to find out what happened to Sandra Bland, the woman who died in a Southeast Texas jail. And an addition to the 2016 Republican presidential field could affect some Texas hopefuls.</p>
Alana Rocha and Justin DehnFri, 24 Jul 2015 06:00:00 -0500http://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/24/video-roundup-sandra-bland-gop-sweet-16/?utm_source=texastribune.org&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20SectionsTrump's Presidential Spectacle Reaches Borderhttp://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/23/trumps-presidential-spectacle-sweeps-through-texas/?utm_source=texastribune.org&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections
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<p>LAREDO &mdash; The union bosses,&nbsp;terrified by his plainspoken truthfulness about the scourge of illegal immigration,&nbsp;didn't want it to happen.<span style="text-decoration: line-through;"><br /></span></p>
<p>But even after border patrol union leaders&nbsp;in Washington, D.C., pulled the plug on his<strong>&nbsp;</strong>rendezvous with local agents,&nbsp;he was undeterred, and his eponymous jet plunged him boldly into the very heart of great danger.&nbsp;</p>
<p>That, at least, is the story&nbsp;according to Donald Trump, whose presidential campaign &mdash; and knack for hyperbole &mdash; swept through this sweltering border city Thursday afternoon at a dizzying, sometimes incomprehensible clip. Over the just two and a half hours Trump spent on the ground, the real estate mogul simultaneously talked and said little at all, mostly serving as the grand marshal of an amorphous parade of angry detractors, rowdy supporters and a massive press corps packed into a pair of coach buses.<strong><br /></strong></p>
<p>All the while, Trump offered himself up as the truth-telling savior of a country refusing to confront the realities of illegal immigration.&nbsp;</p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">&ldquo;Well, they say it&rsquo;s a great danger, but I have to do it," Trump, sporting a baseball cap emblazoned with his campaign slogan "Make America Great Again,"&nbsp;told reporters after landing at Laredo International Airport. "I love the country."</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">He later added: "</span><span class="s1">People are saying, &lsquo;Oh, it&rsquo;s so dangerous what you&rsquo;re doing, Mr. Trump. It&rsquo;s so dangerous.' I have to do it. I have to do it."</span></p>
<p>The trip represented Trump's most provocative effort yet to show he was not backing down from his inflammatory comments last month on illegal immigration, which characterized people entering the United States unlawfully as rapists and other kinds of criminals. He was predictably unapologetic throughout the trip, blaming the media for bending his words and swearing Latinos, who make up 96 percent of Laredo's population, can't get enough of him.&nbsp;</p>
<p>"I&rsquo;ll take jobs back from China, I&rsquo;ll take jobs back from Japan," Trump said at one point during the trip. "The Hispanics are going to get those jobs, and they&rsquo;re going to love Trump."</p>
<p>The spectacle reached its apex when he held court with a crush of media at the border&nbsp;following&nbsp;a roughly half-hour closed-door meeting with law enforcement officials. Against the backdrop of a line of trucks waiting to enter the country, Trump regaled reporters with a string of boisterous predictions &mdash; that he would not only win the GOP nomination, but would also take the Hispanic vote &mdash; and vague prescriptions for the issue that brought him here: illegal immigration.</p>
<p>He confirmed his support for building a wall along some parts of the border, but did not respond to a question about how he would handle the millions of undocumented people already. Asked more broadly about fixing the immigration system, Trump offered a head-scratching proposal: "You have to make people who come in &mdash; they have to be legal."&nbsp;</p>
<p>He was also asked if he had seen any evidence Mexico is purposely sending its criminals across the border, an argument he has made on the stump. Trump said yes,&nbsp;promised to show reporters the proof, provided no further details and moved<strong>&nbsp;</strong>on to the next question.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Asked whether he had received any threats from Mexican drug lord Joaquin Guzm&aacute;n, known as "El Chapo," Trump professed ignorance.&nbsp;"I know nothing about it," replied Trump, who issued a guns-blazing statement on Guzman's escape from prison 11 days ago.&nbsp;</p>
<p>After visiting the bridge, Trump showed up at a reception hall where he spoke for just under four minutes. Most of his appearance was consumed by an argument with a Spanish-language TV reporter who informed Trump many young Latinos were offended by his remarks on illegal immigration, drawing roars of disapproval from a friendly crowd. Trump ended the back-and-forth by bragging about his $500 million lawsuit against Univision, the Spanish-language TV network that has cut ties with him.&nbsp;</p>
<p>In a more recent disassociation, the Laredo Border Patrol union pulled out of Trump's trip hours before he was scheduled to arrive, apparently over concerns about the visit from its national organization. But that only gave Trump more fodder for his crusade.</p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span style="line-height: 1.35;">"They wanted to give me an award, and they&rsquo;re petrified of saying what&rsquo;s happening because they have a real problem here," Trump told reporters after landing at the airport. "They invited me and then all of a sudden they were told, 'Silencio.' They want silence.&rdquo;&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span style="line-height: 1.35;">The National Border Patrol Council was not the only enemy Trump conjured. He criticized Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton as the "worst secretary of state in the history of our country" and took his umpteenth shot at former Gov. Rick Perry, whose super PAC is currently airing TV ads on his border security record.</span></span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">"Oh, he&rsquo;s following my lead, absolutely," Trump told reporters at the airport. "We&rsquo;re the ones who brought up illegal immigration.&rdquo;</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">While there was no shortage of Trump supporters in the mix with his foes Thursday &mdash; including one who had a sign reading "Mr. Trump, FUCK U" in his windshield &mdash; the billionaire's trip seemed to evoke an ambivalent reaction from local Republican leaders.&nbsp;</span><span class="s1"><span style="line-height: 1.35;">Randy Blair, chairman of the Webb County GOP, said local Republicans were seeing both sides of the coin with Trump's take on illegal immigration.&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">&ldquo;There is an issue with the people that are coming across, however, the true facts and the way he stated them are night and day," Blair said. On the other hand, he added, Trump is</span><span class="s1">&nbsp;"talking about stuff that the other people won&rsquo;t talk about, and he&rsquo;s talking about it very frankly."</span></p>
<p class="p1">Other Texans were less diplomatic. As Trump protester Roland Gonzalez <strong>&mdash; </strong>his sign read, "Trump's hair is illegal"<strong> &mdash;&nbsp;</strong>waited for the candidate at the airport, he recalled the billionaire's comment to an interviewer Wednesday that he "may never see you again" after the Texas trip.&nbsp;</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.35;">"Well, he better not be kidding because we have American snipers here," Gonzalez said. "If he goes to the river banks &mdash; I understand they're going to take him there &mdash; we have Mexican snipers over there. So you get my flow?"</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.35;">Mission Mayor Beto Salinas was more concise in an interview Thursday morning: "Leave us alone. Go back to New York."</span></p>
<p>Trump's trip was not entirely met with hostility, and there seemed to be an especially vocal contingent of supporters at the banquet hall. They shouted down the Spanish-language TV reporter and broke into cheers when he brought up the Univision lawsuit.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
<p>"I support him being an honest person, up front, and hopefully he won't lose focus on the issues," said Veronica Ollervides, a Laredo government worker whose daughter received an autograph from Trump through the window of his SUV as it rolled away from the banquet hall. "I really haven't heard anybody else saying anything different, bringing up the issues like he has."</p>
<p>Asked if that group included the two White House hopefuls from Texas &mdash; Perry and U.S. Sen. <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/ted-cruz/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Ted Cruz</a>, the lone GOP candidate to defend Trump &mdash; Ollervides said yes. "I think even Ted Cruz is kind of endorsing him in a way, right?" she asked.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Ollvervides' daughter was not the only person to mob Trump's SUV, looking for an autograph, selfie or simply a high-five. The same thing happened as Trump's car left from the World Trade Bridge, and it was in that moment he showed an unusual flash of restraint.</p>
<p>Who would be a worse president, a reported asked, bringing up two candidates he rarely resists the chance to criticize: Clinton or former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush?</p>
<p>"Trump will be the best president," he responded, his car window finally rolling up. "Have a good time, guys."&nbsp;</p>
Patrick SvitekThu, 23 Jul 2015 20:03:59 -0500http://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/23/trumps-presidential-spectacle-sweeps-through-texas/?utm_source=texastribune.org&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20SectionsFor Abbott, Trump Creates a Challenge With Hispanicshttp://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/23/abbott-trump-presents-challenge-hispanics/?utm_source=texastribune.org&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections
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<p dir="ltr"><span>Hispanic Republican leaders in Texas have been&nbsp;largely satisfied with<strong>&nbsp;</strong>Gov. <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/greg-abbott/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Greg Abbott</a>'s&nbsp;maiden year in office.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p dir="ltr">Early in his tenure, he <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/2014/11/11/abbott-says-he-will-name-cascos-secretary-state/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">tapped Carlos Cascos</a>, a Hispanic Republican from the border, to serve as secretary of state. During his first legislative session, he <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/2015/06/09/abbott-signs-sweeping-border-security-bill/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">signed off</a> on an $800 million infusion into the state's border security efforts. And he&rsquo;s made efforts to <a href="http://www.chron.com/news/politics/article/Abbott-meets-with-Mexican-officials-gets-invite-6376637.php">meet with Mexican officials</a>, and accepted an invitation to visit the state&rsquo;s partner in trade.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Then came Donald Trump.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>After jumping into the 2016 presidential race in June, the billionaire businessman&nbsp;made<strong>&nbsp;</strong>headlines for saying Mexico is &ldquo;not sending their best&rdquo; to the United States, leaving the country to deal with rapists, drug dealers and other criminals.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr">Many in the ever-expanding&nbsp;GOP field of presidential contenders&nbsp;admonished Trump for his remarks, and business partners quickly distanced themselves from his rhetoric.</p>
<p dir="ltr">But from Abbott &mdash; who has often boasted of&nbsp;his campaign&rsquo;s <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/2014/11/07/abbott-had-sophisticated-turnout-machine/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">focus on increasing Hispanic support </a><span>for the GOP &mdash; there has been little but silence, and many of his Hispanic supporters have taken note.<span style="text-decoration: line-through;"><br /></span></span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>Abbott's&nbsp;only comment on Trump&rsquo;s remarks came<strong>&nbsp;</strong>when prompted by an interviewer on the TV show&nbsp;<em>Fox &amp; Friends</em>. &ldquo;</span><span>I disagree with some of the tenor of Donald Trump, but the fact is, he has pointed out a great frustration that Americans have, and that is Washington, D.C., has not done its job to secure the border,"&nbsp;Abbott responded.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>But as Trump </span><a href="http://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/23/trump-keeps-texas-trip-after-union-pulls-out/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections"><span>touched down on the Texas-Mexico border</span></a><span> on Thursday, Hispanic Republicans called on the governor to take a more assertive approach to chastising Trump for his comments.<span style="text-decoration: line-through;"><br /></span></span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>Artemio Muniz, state chairman of the Federation of Hispanic Republicans, said Abbott&rsquo;s low-key rebuke of Trump&rsquo;s &ldquo;tenor&rdquo; did little for the party&rsquo;s ability to make inroads with the growing Hispanic electorate.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>&ldquo;In order for me to go out there and win hearts and minds, I need the people at the top to do their job in remembering and protecting this relationship,&rdquo; Muniz said. &ldquo;We definitely need more, especially from Texas leaders. Trump&rsquo;s comments have really damaged that relationship.&rdquo;</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>Abbott&rsquo;s office did not respond to a request for comment.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>The Texas GOP has attempted to broaden its appeal to the Hispanic community &mdash; which, at 10 million people, makes up 38 percent of the state&rsquo;s population and is expected to reach a majority in three decades or so.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>But Hispanic Republicans noted that Abbott&rsquo;s response differed&nbsp;markedly&nbsp;from<strong>&nbsp;</strong>that of former Gov. <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/rick-perry/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Rick Perry</a>, who has </span><span><a href="http://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/02/perry-emerges-leading-anti-trump-voice-gop/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">emerged as Trump&rsquo;s leading critic</a>.</span><span style="text-decoration: line-through;"><br /></span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>Soon after Trump&rsquo;s announcement, Perry lambasted the billionaire's&nbsp;remarks while praising Hispanic immigrants&rsquo; &ldquo;extraordinary" service to the country. </span><span>More recently, Perry </span><a href="http://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/22/rick-perry-donald-trump-dc/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections"><span>told a D.C. crowd</span></a><span> that Trump &ldquo;is wrongly demonizing Mexican-Americans for political sport.&rdquo; And on the morning of Trump&rsquo;s border trip, Perry said he hoped Trump &ldquo;will explain to the Hispanic Americans he meets why he thinks they are rapists and murderers.&rdquo;</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>Trump has </span><a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/623500394686251008"><span>shot back</span></a><span>, saying Perry should be ashamed for doing &ldquo;an absolutely horrible job of securing the border&rdquo; all the while describing Abbott as &ldquo;terrific.&rdquo;</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>Mission Mayor Beto Salinas, who endorsed the governor during his campaign, suggested that Abbott, as Perry's successor, should take seriously Trump's criticism of the former governor.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>"He should be a little more vocal because he knows that Gov. Perry had his hands on the border all the time, and all he did was just change hands," Salinas said, adding that Abbott should also part ways with the $35,000 he received in campaign cash from Trump.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>"He should give it back to him," Salinas said, recalling the </span><a href="http://www.texastribune.org/2014/09/21/abbott-hunt-hispanic-votes/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections"><span>Rio Grande Valley's support</span></a><span> for Abbott's campaign. "He came down, we supported him. We gave him more than $35,000."</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>Election results show that Abbott doesn't have a strong hold on the Hispanic vote.<br /></span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>Abbott lost the border counties he repeatedly visited during his campaign, taking 42 percent of the vote in Cameron County and 35 percent in Hidalgo County. Though his supporters often point to exit polls that showed Abbott won 44 percent of the Hispanic vote as part of his 20-point margin of victory, political observers </span><a href="http://www.texastribune.org/2014/12/07/abbott-balancing-act-far-right-and-hispanics/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections"><span>have reiterated</span></a><span> that his success among Hispanics was in a low-turnout election.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>Abbott won&rsquo;t face the Hispanic electorate until he&rsquo;s up for re-election in 2018.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>Other Hispanic Republicans refuted the thought that Abbott&rsquo;s faint reaction to Trump&nbsp;would sour the governor&rsquo;s appeal to Hispanic voters.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>Though he commended Perry for his criticism of Trump, Hector De Leon, co-chairman of the<strong>&nbsp;</strong>Associated Republicans of Texas, said Abbott&rsquo;s response was in line with his more measured approach to politics.</span></p>
<p>&ldquo;Greg Abbott is a jurist and he has the temperament of a jurist,&rdquo; De Leon said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s any sort of a contradiction between his campaign rhetoric and outreach and where he is today. There&rsquo;s no question that he doesn&rsquo;t agree with Donald Trump.&rdquo;</p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>Meanwhile, Trump&rsquo;s controversial comments have left some in the border business community &mdash; which is </span><a href="http://www.texastribune.org/2015/03/14/cruz-heavy-border-rhetoric-light-trips/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections"><span>used to fending off</span></a><span> fiery rhetoric about the area &mdash; wishing elected officials in Texas did more to debunk false statements made about the border and its residents.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>State leaders, including the governor, should make better use of their bully pulpit to fight &ldquo;reinforced misperceptions&rdquo; about the border that result from comments like those made by Trump, said Steve Ahlenius, president and CEO of the McAllen Chamber of Commerce.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a role for all elected officials,&rdquo; Ahlenius said.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>Others offered that Abbott&rsquo;s approach is reflective of the GOP&rsquo;s two big challenges: balancing the interests of the Republican base and Hispanics, and reconciling the party&rsquo;s internal fractures.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>&ldquo;Keeping quiet signifies [Abbott] knows the political temperature of Texas and that temperature is in tune with a lot of the comments [Trump is] saying,&rdquo; said Victoria DeFrancesco Soto, a public affairs and political science professor at the University of Texas at Austin.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>Trump&rsquo;s words have resonated with some Republican voters, helping him shoot to the top of the polls.&nbsp;And responses to Trump&rsquo;s remarks have</span><a href="http://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/21/trumps-run-widens-split-between-cruz-perry/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections"><span> further highlighted the split</span></a><span> between Perry and Tea Party darling U.S. Sen. <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/ted-cruz/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Ted Cruz</a>, who has lauded Trump since announcing his candidacy.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>When it comes to Trump, DeFrancesco Soto said the contrasts between Perry and Cruz are emblematic of the ongoing divide within the Republican Party that is likely hindering Abbott from speaking up on the matter.</span></p>
<p>&ldquo;Right now we&rsquo;re seeing a civil war between the chamber of commerce types and the Tea Party types,&rdquo; DeFrancesco Soto said. &ldquo;And Greg Abbott is in the middle of it.&rdquo;</p>
<p dir="ltr"><em>Patrick Svitek contributed to this report.</em></p>
<p dir="ltr"><em></em><em>Disclosure: The University of Texas at Austin is a corporate sponsor of The Texas Tribune.&nbsp;A complete list of Tribune donors and sponsors can be viewed&nbsp;<a href="http://www.texastribune.org/support-us/donors-and-members/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">here</a>.</em></p>
Alexa UraThu, 23 Jul 2015 19:42:08 -0500http://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/23/abbott-trump-presents-challenge-hispanics/?utm_source=texastribune.org&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20SectionsTrump Heads to the Border, Offers Few Immigration Specificshttp://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/23/trump-keeps-texas-trip-after-union-pulls-out/?utm_source=texastribune.org&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections
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<p><sup>Editor's note: This story has been updated throughout.</sup></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.35;">LAREDO &mdash; Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump still made his way to the Texas-Mexico border on Thursday, even though a Border Patrol union here backed out of hosting him.</span></p>
<p>Speaking with reporters at Laredo International Airport amid loud chants of "Dump Trump," the candidate suggested he had an obligation to tour the border.&nbsp;</p>
<p>"They say it's a great danger, but I have to do it,"&nbsp;<span>Trump said after a reporter asked if he was worried about his safety on the trip. "I have to do it."</span></p>
<p>Trump then headed to the border, where he apparently&nbsp;met with law enforcement&nbsp;officials in a building overlooking a highway filled with trucks waiting to enter the United States. Outside the building, he held court with a crush of reporters, offering few specifics about how he would deal with the issue that brought him here &mdash; illegal immigration.&nbsp;</p>
<p>He did, however, offer a string of bold pronouncements, including that he would not only win the GOP nomination but go on to win the Hispanic vote. He predicted he could easily beat Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton in the general election, calling her the worst secretary of state in U.S. history.&nbsp;And he did not back down from any of his previous controversial&nbsp;comments on immigration, accusing the media of misconstruing them and swearing that Latinos have no beef with him.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Local 2455, the Border Patrol union that originally intended to host Trump on his trip, announced early Thursday it would "<span>pull out of all events involving Donald Trump," citing discussions with its national organization. For a time, that announcement seemed to throw<span>&nbsp;into question Trump's plan to tour the border</span><span>.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>"Just to be clear, an endorsement was never discussed for any presidential candidate," the union said, reiterating it does not endorse candidates.&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.35;">Trump, the bombastic billionaire whose candidacy has rattled the 2016 race, said Thursday on Fox News he had been invited to Laredo by "border patrols and they want to honor me."</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.35;">Asked about the union's decision, a Trump spokeswoman said the candidate was "still going" to the border.&nbsp;</span>Later&nbsp;<span class="aBn" data-term="goog_818459800"><span class="aQJ">Thursday</span></span>&nbsp;morning on Twitter, Trump said he still planned to make it to Laredo on time.</p>
<p>"Getting ready to lift off for Laredo," Trump wrote. "Will land at 1:OO P.M. Should be exciting and informative!"</p>
<p>Trump's campaign followed up the tweet with a statement from him saying the local Border Patrol agents had been "totally silenced directly from superiors in Washington who do not want people to know how bad it is on the border &mdash; every bit as bad as Mr. Trump has been saying." The statement confirmed Trump was still making the trip, "despite the great danger."&nbsp;</p>
<p>As Trump flew to Laredo, former Gov. <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/rick-perry/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Rick Perry</a> opened a new front in his war of words with the real estate mogul, pouncing on reports that people working on some of Trump's properties are in the country illegally.&nbsp;</p>
<p>"As a known employer of illegal immigrant labor, Donald Trump&rsquo;s record on border security is non-existent at best and a farce at worst," Perry said in a statement. "It&rsquo;s going to take more than a day trip for him to convince the American people he is anything but a hypocrite when it comes to border security."</p>
<p>At the Laredo airport,&nbsp;Trump took a fresh shot at Perry, saying the former Texas governor was "following my lead" in bringing up border security on the campaign trail.&nbsp;</p>
Patrick SvitekThu, 23 Jul 2015 09:08:46 -0500http://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/23/trump-keeps-texas-trip-after-union-pulls-out/?utm_source=texastribune.org&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20SectionsPerry Rips Trump in Washington Speechhttp://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/22/rick-perry-donald-trump-dc/?utm_source=texastribune.org&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections
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<p>WASHINGTON &mdash; Showing no desire to step back from his clash with fellow Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, former Gov. <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/rick-perry/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Rick Perry</a> on Wednesday unleashed a torrent of insults about the billionaire, calling Trump a&nbsp;<span>"barking carnival act" and a "toxic mix of&nbsp;demagoguery, mean-spiritedness and nonsense."</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.35;">During his speech at&nbsp;<span>a downtown hotel here</span>, Perry also described Trump as "a sower of discord," a scapegoater, a candidate who offers "empty platitudes and promises," and "a cancer on conservatism." He added that Trump "is&nbsp;wrongly demonizing Mexican-Americans for political sport" and is "the modern-day incarnation of the know-nothing movement."</span></p>
<p>The event was hosted by operatives from the Opportunity and Freedom PAC, which is supporting Perry.</p>
<p>Trump <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/22/politics/donald-trump-rick-perry/" target="_blank">has been sharply critical of Perry</a>, tweeting this week that the former Texas governor "did an absolutely horrible job of securing the border. He should be ashamed of himself."</p>
<p>Perry, a former Air Force pilot, <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/18/perry-wants-trump-out-presidential-race/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections" target="_blank">also blasted Trump again</a> for his recent comments about U.S. Sen. John McCain.&nbsp;</p>
<p>"Donald Trump was born into privilege. He received deferments to avoid service in Vietnam," Perry said. "He breathes the free air thousands of heroes died protecting. And he couldn&rsquo;t have endured for five minutes what John McCain endured for five and a half years."&nbsp;</p>
<p>Perry also tackled Trump on religious grounds for a comment Trump made on Saturday saying he did not seek God's forgiveness.&nbsp;</p>
<p>"A man too arrogant, too self-absorbed to seek God&rsquo;s forgiveness is precisely the type of leader John Adams prayed would never occupy the White House," Perry said.&nbsp;</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.35;">The former Texas governor took care to not direct his criticism at Republican supporters of Trump, who is currently at the top of national polling.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.35;">"He&rsquo;s piqued the interest of some Republican voters who have legitimate concerns about a porous border and broken immigration system," Perry said. "But instead of offering those voters leadership or solutions, he has offered fear and soundbites. This cannot stand."&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.35;">Perry otherwise avoided shots at his fellow rivals for the GOP nomination. </span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.35;">Beyond Trump, he made a broad case for conservative foreign and economic policies. But even in his criticisms of President Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the remarks were ideological &mdash; not personal &mdash; in nature.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p>In recent weeks, Perry seized the political opportunity that the Trump political conflagration has created. This protracted fight elevates Perry's tone to statesmanlike as he tries to rehabilitate his image after his disastrous 2012 presidential campaign.</p>
<p>But also, only the top 10 candidates in polling will qualify for the Aug. 6 Fox News debate. Perry's engagement with Trump, so far, has translated into an increase in television bookings and media coverage. He is showing <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/20/cruz-and-perry-tied-national-poll/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">a slight uptick</a> in recent polling.&nbsp;</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.35;">Prior to the speech, former state Rep. Kenn George, R-Dallas, participated in a panel and made the case for Perry's economic record in Texas.</span></p>
Abby LivingstonWed, 22 Jul 2015 16:03:43 -0500http://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/22/rick-perry-donald-trump-dc/?utm_source=texastribune.org&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20SectionsTrump to Visit Laredo, Tour Texas-Mexico Borderhttp://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/21/union-official-trump-tour-texas-mexico-border/?utm_source=texastribune.org&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections
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<p><sup>* Editor's note: This story was updated on July 22.</sup></p>
<p>Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate who has drawn fire for his inflammatory comments on illegal immigration, is making a trip to the Texas-Mexico border,&nbsp;his campaign announced Wednesday.</p>
<p>Trump is scheduled to visit Laredo on Thursday to hold a meet and greet with the local Border Patrol union, see the border and address local law enforcement officials.</p>
<p>"I've been invited by the border patrols, and they want to honor me actually, and thousands and thousands of them, because I'm speaking up," Trump said Wednesday on Fox News.&nbsp;"I may never see you again, but we're going to do it."&nbsp;</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.35;">The billionaire businessman has been the subject of intense criticism since his presidential announcement speech, when he characterized people in the country illegally as rapists and other kinds of criminals.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p>Trump's candidacy&nbsp;<a href="http://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/21/trumps-run-widens-split-between-cruz-perry/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections" target="_blank">has divided</a>&nbsp;top Texas Republicans, with former Gov. Rick Perry emerging as the most vocal critic of the real estate magnate.&nbsp;After a speech Wednesday in Washington, D.C., took a fresh shot at Trump over his upcoming trip.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I hope he can find the border because I&rsquo;m not sure he&rsquo;s ever been there before," Perry said.</p>
<p>U.S. Sen. <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/ted-cruz/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Ted Cruz</a>, meanwhile, has refused to denounce Trump, swearing off "Republican-on-Republican violence."&nbsp;</p>
<p>Instead, he has praised Trump as a straight-talking truth-teller raising awareness of the issue of illegal immigration.</p>
<p>"The senator is unable to visit the border on this trip because he has to be in Washington for votes pending, including the highway bill, defunding Planned Parenthood, and stopping <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/16/texans-ex-im-highway-bill/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections" target="_blank">ExIm from being attached to the highway bill</a>," Cruz campaign spokesman Rick Tyler said in a statement. "Senator Cruz would have love to have joined Trump on the border."</p>
<p>"We are thrilled that Donald Trump has chosen to visit the border of Texas to really see what is going on and call attention to illegal immigration," Tyler added. "We would invite all of the presidential candidates to do the same.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Gov. <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/greg-abbott/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Greg Abbott</a>, who <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/2015/05/17/abbott-leans-possible-role-2016-texas-kingmaker/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections" target="_blank">has made</a> it a priority to show presidential candidates the border, has said&nbsp;he disagreed with the tone of Trump's remarks on illegal immigration but was thankful he was raising awareness of the issue.&nbsp;</p>
<p>As of Wednesday afternoon, Abbott was not expected to be involved in Trump's trip.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The Laredo Border Patrol union, Local 2455, had invited Trump to visit the region, and conservative news organization Breitbart Texas is helping organize the trip. The Border Patrol agency itself "has nothing to do" with Trump's visit, according to Rick Pauza, a spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection.</p>
<p><em>Juli&aacute;n Aguilar of The Texas Tribune and Philip Rucker of The Washington Post contributed to this report.</em></p>
Patrick SvitekTue, 21 Jul 2015 23:11:13 -0500http://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/21/union-official-trump-tour-texas-mexico-border/?utm_source=texastribune.org&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20SectionsTrump's Presidential Run Exposes Schism Between Cruz, Perryhttp://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/21/trumps-run-widens-split-between-cruz-perry/?utm_source=texastribune.org&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections
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<p><sub>Editor's note: This story was updated on July 22.</sub></p>
<p>Former Gov. <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/rick-perry/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Rick Perry</a>'s war of words with Donald Trump is adding a new chapter to his in-state rivalry with U.S. Sen. <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/ted-cruz/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Ted Cruz</a>, who has refused to denounce the billionaire businessman for a string of incendiary comments that have riled the presidential contest.</p>
<p>Perhaps no development in the 2016 race&nbsp;has found Cruz and Perry further apart than the cacophonous candidacy of Trump, who has left both Texans in his dust while shooting to the top of polls with just over two weeks to go until the first GOP debate.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Putting him at odds with just about every other Republican hopeful, Cruz has refused to directly criticize the real estate magnate over his recent statements, including&nbsp;characterizing&nbsp;people living<strong>&nbsp;</strong>in the country illegally as rapists and suggesting&nbsp;that U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is not a true war hero because he was captured. Perry, meanwhile, has aggressively positioned himself as the leading Republican critic of Trump, an unmistakable contrast with Cruz that some backers of the former governor are happy to highlight.</p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">"I would put Gov. Perry in a class by himself, and Sen. Cruz is in a class of 15," said David Johnson, an Iowa state senator supporting Perry. "He's out there with the other 15 worrying about not offending The Donald.&rdquo;&nbsp;</span></p>
<p>Perry is expected to keep up the drumbeat of Trump criticism with a speech Wednesday in Washington, D.C. In his remarks, Perry plans to cast Trump as a destructive force within the GOP, ultimately threatening its chances at winning back the White House in 2016.</p>
<p>"He offers a barking carnival act that can be best described as Trumpism: a toxic mix of demagoguery, mean-spiritedness and nonsense that will lead the Republican Party to perdition if pursued,"&nbsp;Perry will say, according to excerpts. "Let no one be mistaken: Donald Trump&rsquo;s candidacy is a cancer on conservatism, and it must be clearly diagnosed, excised and discarded."</p>
<p>Don't expect Cruz to take anything close to that tone the next time he weighs in on Trump. Given ample opportunities to distance himself from the bombastic billionaire, Cruz has repeatedly lauded Trump as a straight talker and has resisted engaging in what he has deemed "Republican-on-Republican violence." &nbsp;</p>
<p>"If there's a strategy of being respectful, then we've been equally respectful of all the candidates," Cruz spokesman Rick Tyler said Tuesday.</p>
<p>To some political observers, the contrast has nonetheless affirmed the different kinds of campaigns each Texan is trying to run: Perry as the seasoned leader aching for a second look ahead of a critical first debate, and Cruz as the conservative warrior mindful of his right flank, where Trump appears to be drawing some support.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Cruz has certainly not avoided commenting on Trump's controversial statements. On illegal immigration, Cruz said Trump was bringing attention to an important issue, even if his rhetoric was a bit over the top. On McCain, a former Navy pilot who was captured during the Vietnam War, Cruz left no doubt that he views his Senate colleague as a war hero. But he has been careful to leave Trump-bashing out of his replies.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Cruz<strong style="line-height: 1.35;">&nbsp;</strong>"<span style="line-height: 1.35;">tactically is sticking to something that will benefit him over the long term, which is not dog-piling on every other candidate," said Ted Delisi, a Republican strategist who worked on Perry's 2012 presidential campaign and is now&nbsp;unaffiliated. "Trump is&nbsp;tapping into some anti-establishment support that Cruz feels like ultimately will be in his camp."&nbsp;</span></p>
<p>Tyler denied Tuesday that the senator was trying to thread the needle and angle&nbsp;for Trump's backers&nbsp;in the long run.</p>
<p>"It's as valid of a point as it would apply to Gov. Perry's supporters, Sen. [Lindsey] Graham's supporters, Gov. [Jeb] Bush's supporters &mdash; let's just go down the list," Tyler said, adding that the only strategy at play is Cruz's commitment to civility toward other Republicans.&nbsp;</p>
<p>There is likely no love lost between Cruz and Perry, who publicly praise each other but remain natural rivals as the two best-known Republicans from Texas.&nbsp;More recently, Perry has been taking more shots at Cruz than Cruz has at Perry, urging early-state voters to beware of electing another "young United States senator" to the highest office in the land.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Their polarized approaches to Trump have not led to any direct clashes, though the two seem well aware they are not seeing eye-to-eye.&nbsp;Cruz chuckled&nbsp;in a recent interview when reminded that&nbsp;Perry has called on Trump to "immediately withdraw" from the race.&nbsp;In another recent interview, Perry hardly contained&nbsp;a smirk while answering a question about Cruz's decision to meet with Trump at his eponymous tower in New York amid the controversy over his remarks on illegal immigration.&nbsp;</p>
<p>"Well, everybody gets to pick who they hang out with, so I have no idea what's going on," Perry <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/15/politics/rick-perry-border-donald-trump/" target="_blank">said</a>&nbsp;in the interview with CNN.</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.35;">Johnson called Trump's campaign a "character test" of who in the GOP field will "stand up to a pro-choice, single-payer, do-not-love-your-neighbor-as-yourself Republican." He was referring to some of Trump's liberal stands over the years, which Bob Haus, Perry's top Iowa strategist, was quick to point out when the billionaire began going after Perry.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.35;">Perry "attacked by pro-choice, pro-universal health care Hillary donor. Who? Hillary's best surrogate, Donald Trump," Haus <a href="https://twitter.com/roberthaus/status/619243949320880128" target="_blank">tweeted</a>&nbsp;earlier this month.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.35;">But even on that line of attack, Cruz has so far taken a pass.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p>Ray Nash, a former sheriff who co-chairs Cruz's campaign in South Carolina, said he "absolutely" believes Cruz has the "right response" on Trump. Trump may be rough around the edges, but his candor is refreshing, Nash added.&nbsp;</p>
<p>"My personal opinion is that Donald Trump is just a straight talker, and he's not politically correct, doesn't try to be politically correct," Nash said. "I think it's very much needed in today's political arena. Political correctness is what has gotten us into this mess we're in."</p>
<p>Cruz appears to be picking up on his supporters' affinity for Trump's tell-it-like-it-is style. Cruz recently amended his stump speech to include a reference to how he defended Trump when no other Republicans would.&nbsp;</p>
<p class="p1">"Donald spoke out, and then this parade of Republicans ran out to smack him with a stick, one after the other after the other," Cruz said Friday in Iowa, <a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2015/07/18/cruz_on_trump_others_smack_him_i_back_him.html" target="_blank">according</a> to RealClearPolitics.&nbsp;"The only one that didn&rsquo;t was me."</p>
Patrick SvitekTue, 21 Jul 2015 21:00:25 -0500http://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/21/trumps-run-widens-split-between-cruz-perry/?utm_source=texastribune.org&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20SectionsTexas Congressional Delegation's Members Build, Share War Chestshttp://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/21/texas-house-members-fundraising/?utm_source=texastribune.org&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections
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<p>WASHINGTON &mdash; How a member of Congress raises and spends campaign money can speak volumes.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Newly filed federal campaign finance reports telegraph which federal House members are worried about re-election, which are eager to ingratiate themselves to colleagues in Washington and who might be in legal trouble.&nbsp;</p>
<p>And for those who hope to oust an incumbent, a fundraising report can reflect not just a capacity to spend money on mail and television advertising &mdash; it can also indicate how serious of an organization the candidate is running.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Here's what caught our eye from the second-quarter reports <span>that were due last week from&nbsp;</span>Texas candidates and incumbents:&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>The Battleground Republican</strong></p>
<p>Thanks to his competitive district, U.S. Rep. <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/will-hurd/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Will Hurd</a>, R-San Antonio, is the most vulnerable incumbent in the delegation &ndash; and he&rsquo;s fundraising like he knows it.</p>
<p>He <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/08/will-hurd-raises-458000-second-quarter/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections" target="_blank">raised more than $450,000 during the quarter</a>, a solid sum compared with incumbents elsewhere in the country. He does, however, have a fairly high burn rate this early in the cycle. He spent $287,000, most of which went toward travel and fundraising fees. But also, his disbursements went toward&nbsp;debts to his media consultant and a personal loan &mdash; both outstanding costs from successful 2014 campaign.</p>
<p>Hurd is unique in that he is the only African-American GOP incumbent in election trouble. The national party is open about its aim to increase diversity in its ranks, and party leaders have telegraphed that keeping him in the 23<sup>rd</sup>&nbsp;Congressional District is a priority. <br /> <br /> As such, at least 12 Republican delegation members donated to Hurd&rsquo;s campaign this quarter, including U.S. Reps. <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/pete-sessions/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Pete Sessions</a>&nbsp;of Dallas and Roger Williams of Austin.</p>
<p>Other noteworthy donors include Sarah Palin and Right to Rise PAC, which was founded by&nbsp;<span>presidential candidate Jeb Bush</span>.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Hurd reported $686,000 in cash on hand.&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>The Democrat Who Wants His Seat Back</strong></p>
<p>Hurd&rsquo;s expected opponent, former U.S. Rep. <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/pete-gallego/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Pete Gallego</a>, D-Alpine, trailed the incumbent by a 2-to-1 margin in fundraising for the quarter, Gallego's first as a declared 2016 congressional candidate.</p>
<p>Typically, the first quarter a candidate is in the race is one of a candidate&rsquo;s strongest in fundraising, because of the low-hanging fruit&nbsp;available when donors are excited about a nascent campaign.&nbsp;</p>
<p>While Hurd has built-in advantages as an incumbent, national party operatives say that Gallego &mdash; who lost his seat to Hurd in 2014 &mdash; has a tendency to amp up his fundraising later in the cycle.</p>
<p>If there were any doubts that his party is invested in the race, they should be put to bed with this report.</p>
<p>At least 19 members of his former caucus donated to Gallego this quarter, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California and many of his former colleagues from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.</p>
<p>Texas Democratic Reps. <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/joaquin-castro/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Joaquin Castro</a> of San Antonio,<a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/lloyd-doggett/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Lloyd Doggett</a><span>&nbsp;of Austin,</span>&nbsp;<a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/gene-green/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Gene Green</a><span>&nbsp;of Houston,&nbsp;</span><a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/ruben-hinojosa/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Rub&eacute;n Hinojosa</a> of Edinburg, <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/marc-veasey/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Marc Veasey</a>&nbsp;of Fort Worth and <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/filemon-vela/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Filemon Vela</a> of Brownsville also contributed to Gallego.</p>
<p>Gallego also had a low burn rate, spending only about $50,000. He reported $174,000 in cash on hand.</p>
<p><strong>The Republican Who Shouldn't Be in Election Trouble &mdash; But Is&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>The other vulnerable incumbent, U.S. Rep. <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/blake-farenthold/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Blake Farenthold</a>, R-Corpus Christi, continued to increase his quarterly haul, but he burned through more than half of it, much of it on legal costs related to <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/2015/02/13/farenthold-refutes-ex-staffers-sexual-harassment-c/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">a sexual harassment lawsuit</a>&nbsp;against his office.</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.35;">Farenthold spent $121,000 of the $180,000 he raised in the second quarter. But $38,000 worth of legal fees to a Washington, D.C., law firm heavily cut into his total.</span><span style="line-height: 1.35;"><br /></span></p>
<p>"Congressman Farenthold is incredibly grateful to his supporters for standing with him and delivering an incredible second quarter that has exceeded all expectations,&rdquo; his spokesman, Kurt Bardella, said in a statement. &ldquo;It's a clear demonstration that Blake's level of support is both genuine and enthusiastic and demonstrates that he isn't taking anything for granted."</p>
<p>Much of the money he raised came from Corpus Christi-area donors and from aviation companies and trade associations. Farenthold sits on the House Transportation Committee.</p>
<p>At the end of June, he had $176,000 in cash on hand. Under normal circumstances, the 27<sup>th</sup>&nbsp;Congressional District is a safely Republican seat.</p>
<p><strong>Presidential Campaign Donations</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><span style="line-height: 1.35;">U.S. Rep. <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/lamar-smith/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Lamar Smith</a>&rsquo;s leadership PAC gave U.S. Sen. <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/ted-cruz/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Ted Cruz</a>&rsquo;s presidential campaign $5,000 in May. But the San Antonio Republican has not issued an endorsement of Cruz.</span></li>
<li>U.S. Rep. <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/joe-barton/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Joe Barton</a>&rsquo;s leadership gave Rick Perry's campaign $1,000 this quarter, <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/17/perry-picks-first-texas-congressional-nod/%20?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">foreshadowing his endorsement</a> Friday for the former Texas governor.</li>
<li>Castro and fellow Democratic U.S. Reps. <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/henry-cuellar/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Henry Cuellar</a>&nbsp;of Laredo,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/al-green/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Al Green</a>&nbsp;of Houston and Gene Green of Houston&nbsp;donated to Hillary Clinton&rsquo;s campaign. Cuellar and Gene Green endorsed Clinton in 2008, while Al Green was a superdelegate for then-Sen. Barack Obama.&nbsp;Castro was not in federal office at that point.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Lots of Work Left for Challengers</strong></p>
<p>Ousting a federal incumbent <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/2015/06/26/why-it-so-hard-oust-congressman/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">is no small chore</a>. Besides Gallego, no other House challenger can boast of a well-funded, organized campaign. It is still early in the cycle, so there is still time for candidates to announce and build their campaigns.</p>
<ul>
<li><span style="line-height: 1.35;"><strong>Texas' 27th District:</strong> Farenthold may have campaign struggles, but there is little evidence that anyone is mounting a serious challenge at this point. Tea Party operatives pointed to ammunitions businessman John Harrington as a possible contender. He filed his statement of candidacy in May, but the Tribune was unable to locate his second-quarter fundraising report. Attempts to reach Harrington&rsquo;s campaign were unsuccessful. Additionally, former state Rep. Solomon Ortiz Jr., <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/2015/03/27/ex-congressmans-son-mulls-challenging-farenthold/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections" target="_blank">a&nbsp;Democrat weighing a challenge</a>,&nbsp;has yet to file paperwork for a possible campaign.</span></li>
<li><strong>Texas' 21st District:</strong>&nbsp;Smith is not taking his re-election for granted. His Republican primary rival, Matt McCall, raised $41,000, spent $11,000 and has $32,000 in cash on hand. In comparison, Smith raised $251,000 and reported $864,000 in cash on hand. He is actively spending his money on campaign infrastructure, including $24,000 on a Wilson Perkins poll.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
<li><strong>Texas' 15th District:</strong> Former Rio Grande City Mayor Ruben Villarreal, a Republican,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.texastribune.org/2015/04/12/former-mayor-challenge-hinojosa-seat-congress?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">announced in April his intent</a> to challenge Hinojosa. But Villarreal did not officially declare his candidacy until last week, after the second-quarter fundraising period concluded. If Hinojosa feels threatened, it does not show in his report: He raised $5,000 and spent $20,000 &mdash; small sums for any House incumbent. He has about a quarter-million dollars in cash on hand. This has been a safely Democratic seat.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Texans Who Are Team Players</strong></p>
<p>The Texas map strongly favors the incumbent parties in each district &mdash; meaning most members of the delegation do not have to spend time worrying about re-election. But the national parties expect all members to contribute to the their House campaign arms and to vulnerable colleagues' campaigns. Doing so ingratiates one to leadership and to fellow members &mdash; which can translate to coveted spots in leadership and on choice committees.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Some highlights of Texas Democrats sharing the wealth:</p>
<ul>
<li><span style="line-height: 1.35;">Castro gave $35,000 to the House Democratic campaign arm to help with races across the country &ndash; a reflection of his increased fundraising responsibilities since he <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/2015/03/19/castro-moves-democratic-ranks/%20?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">moved up the leadership ladder </a></span><span style="line-height: 1.35;">in March. He donated to other Democratic campaigns around the country, including a donation to former state Sen. <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/leticia-van-de-putte/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Leticia Van de Putte</a>&rsquo;s unsuccessful San Antonio mayoral campaign.</span></li>
<li>Doggett gave $25,000 to the House Democratic campaign arm, while Al Green contributed $5,000.&nbsp;U.S. Rep.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/beto-orourke/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections" target="_blank">Beto O&rsquo;Rourke</a>&nbsp;of El Paso&nbsp;also donated $500.<strong>&nbsp;</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>On the Republican side,&nbsp;U.S. Reps. <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/kevin-brady/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections" target="_blank">Kevin&nbsp;</a><a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/kevin-brady/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections" target="_blank">Brady</a>&nbsp;of&nbsp;The Woodlands, <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/pete-olson/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Pete Olson</a>&nbsp;of Sugar Land and <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/sam-johnson/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Sam Johnson</a> of Plano donated to the campaigns of Republican members in competitive districts.</p>
<p>Also, a<span style="line-height: 1.35;">&nbsp;number of Texas Republicans also contributed to the House Republican campaign arm. Members who are committee chairmen have especially high fundraising expectations to meet. Among the donations:</span></p>
<ul>
<li><span style="line-height: 1.3;">Brady gave $22,000.</span></li>
<li>U.S. Rep. <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/john-culberson/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">John Culberson</a>, R-Houston, gave $30,000.</li>
<li>U.S. Rep. <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/kay-granger/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Kay Granger</a>, R-Fort Worth, gave $60,000.</li>
<li>House Financial Services Chairman <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/jeb-hensarling/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Jeb Hensarling</a>, R-Dallas, gave $90,000</li>
<li>House Homeland Security Chairman <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/michael-mccaul/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Michael McCaul</a>, R-Austin, gave $10,000.</li>
<li>U.S. Rep. <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/ted-poe/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Ted Poe</a>, R-Humble, gave $95,000.&nbsp;<span style="line-height: 1.35;"><br /></span></li>
<li><span style="line-height: 1.35;">House Armed Services Chairman <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/mac-thornberry/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Mac Thornberry</a>, R-Clarendon, gave $160,000.&nbsp;</span></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Other Odds and Ends</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><span style="line-height: 1.35;">Sarah Palin donated $500 to U.S. Rep. <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/louie-gohmert/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Louie Gohmert</a>, R-Tyler.</span></li>
<li>U.S. Rep. <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/john-ratcliffe/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">John Ratcliffe</a>, R-Heath, gave himself about $2,500, paying back outstanding loans from his successful 2014 race against now-former U.S. Rep. <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/ralph-hall/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Ralph Hall</a>. U.S. Rep. <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/bill-flores/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Bill Flores</a> paid himself back $25,000 for loans from his 2010 campaign, when he ousted Democrat <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/chet-edwards/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Chet Edwards</a>.</li>
<li>U.S. Reps. <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/michael-burgess/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Michael Burgess</a>, R-Lewisville, and Veasey accepted donations from the NFL&rsquo;s &ldquo;GRIDIRON PAC.&rdquo;&nbsp;</li>
<li>U.S. Rep. <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/kenny-marchant/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Kenny Marchant</a>, R-Coppell, loaned his campaign $50,000.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
Abby LivingstonTue, 21 Jul 2015 06:00:00 -0500http://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/21/texas-house-members-fundraising/?utm_source=texastribune.org&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20SectionsCampaign Finance Reports Shine Light on 2016 Texas Money Racehttp://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/20/first-disclosures-offer-view-16-money-race-texas/?utm_source=texastribune.org&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections
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<p>The first major wave of presidential campaign finance disclosures is offering the fullest picture yet of what role Texas, long known for its deep pool of political cash, is playing in the 2016 money race.</p>
<p>The takeaways are as numerous as the Republican candidates flocking to the state to fill their campaign coffers. Some are predictable &mdash; U.S. Sen.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/ted-cruz/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Ted Cruz</a> and former Gov.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/rick-perry/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Rick Perry</a> are leaning heavily on the state for campaign cash &mdash; but others are less expected, such as Florida Sen. Marco Rubio's inroads with top donors despite having few ties to the state politically or personally.</p>
<p>Some allegiances are becoming clear, but the dash for cash seems far from settled, with some top givers splitting their loyalties and others sitting out for now, according to a Texas Tribune analysis of campaign finance records through June 30.</p>
<p>Under federal law, campaigns only have to provide detailed information about donors &mdash; including their home state &mdash; for those who give more than $200. That makes it impossible to measure the full involvement of Texas donors in each campaign, but nonetheless provides enough information to determine where a candidate's larger contributions are coming from.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Unsurprisingly, the Republican candidates receiving the highest share of these $200-plus contributions from Texas are the two from the state, <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/ted-cruz/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Cruz</a> (73 percent) and <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/rick-perry/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Perry</a> (69 percent). But while the two are no doubt duking it out for dollars in their home state, the biggest threat to any candidate's fundraising in Texas appears to be former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.</p>
<p>Bush, the beneficiary of his family's vast political network in the state, has&nbsp;already reeled in some of the biggest whales, including Dallas oil billionaires T. Boone Pickens, Ray Hunt and Trevor Rees-Jones. He also has heavyweight bundlers on his side, including Tyler oil and gas attorney Gaylord Hughey and Houston beer distributor John Nau.</p>
<p>And even this early in the campaign cycle, Bush seems to have achieved a high degree of donor loyalty: He appears to have the exclusive support of most of his major Texas donors, very few of whom gave to campaigns other than his.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Some major Republican donors in Texas are nonetheless hedging their bets, giving to multiple candidates.&nbsp;San Antonio car dealer and businessman Red McCombs donated to both Cruz and Perry; Houston Texans owner Robert McNair gave to U.S. Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Rubio; Dallas investor Robert Rowling donated to Cruz and Rubio; former Texas Rangers owner Tom Hicks contributed to Cruz and Rubio; and Dallas telecommunications executive Kenny Troutt gave to Perry and former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania.&nbsp;</p>
<p>At the same time, some of Texas' most prolific GOP donors appear to be sitting on the sidelines so far in the presidential cycle. Notably, Dallas developer Ross Perot Jr. did not show up on any campaign finance reports for the second quarter. Neither did Fort Worth philanthropist Ramona Bass, though several other members of the influential family gave money to Bush, Cruz, Perry and retired&nbsp;neurosurgeon Ben Carson.&nbsp;</p>
<p>They could be funneling money into the race through other avenues, like super PACs that can raise unlimited sums and do not have to publicize their finances until the end of this month. Or they could be backing a candidate who started his or her bid after June 30, the most recent filing deadline for campaign finance reports.</p>
<div id="pym-graphic">&nbsp;</div>
<p>Perhaps one of the biggest surprises from the disclosures involves Rubio. He has nowhere near the longstanding Texas ties shared by some of his GOP foes, but his donor list indicates he has had no problem making inroads with some of the state's top GOP moneymen. Several of the bold-faced names on his report: Harlan Crow, Lowry Mays and L.E. Simmons, all top bundlers for 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney, as well as major givers such as Hicks, McNair and Rowling.</p>
<p>Annette Simmons, the philanthropist widow of GOP megadonor Harold Simmons, also gave to Rubio's campaign, her only contribution to a presidential bid during the second quarter. She has previously donated to a political action committee supporting Rubio, though it remains unclear how involved she plans to be in the 2016 race.</p>
<p>Rubio's Senate colleague, Rand Paul, appears to have had a harder time finding deep pockets in Texas, though, like Cruz, Paul's fundraising strength has always been in his appeal to smaller-dollar donors. Paul, who grew up in Lake Jackson and went to Baylor University, nonetheless collected 20 percent of his $7 million haul from Texas &mdash; the fourth highest percentage in the GOP field.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Several past and present state lawmakers also opened their wallets for GOP candidates. Bush received donations from House Speaker <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/joe-straus/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Joe Straus</a> of San Antonio, former Sen. <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/john-carona/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">John Carona</a> of Dallas, Sen. <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/kevin-eltife/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Kevin Eltife</a> of Tyler and former state Rep. <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/vicki-truitt/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Vicki Truitt</a> of Keller. Perry got money from Rep. <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/bill-zedler/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Bill Zedler</a> of Arlington and former state Sen. <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/robert-duncan/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Robert Duncan</a>&nbsp;of Lubbock. State Sen. <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/donald-huffines/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Don Huffines</a> of Dallas and Rep. <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/jonathan-stickland/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Jonathan Stickland</a> of Bedford gave to Paul, Rep. <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/jim-keffer/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Jim Keffer</a> to Huckabee and Rep. <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/gary-elkins/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Gary Elkins</a> of Houston to Cruz. Former comptroller <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/susan-combs/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Susan Combs</a> appears&nbsp;to have donated to the campaign of former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina.</p>
<p>On the Democratic side, the money race is shaping up to be more predictable. Front-runner Hillary Clinton raised tens of millions of dollars with the help of reliable allies in Texas, including megadonor lawyers Amber Mostyn of Houston and Marc Stanley of Dallas. Among the more recognizable politicos who gave to Clinton's campaign were state Rep. <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/ina-minjarez/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Ina Minjarez</a> of San Antonio, Annie's List Executive Director Patsy Woods Martin and Henry Cisneros, the former mayor of San Antonio and a big booster of U.S. Housing Secretary Juli&aacute;n Castro's vice presidential prospects.</p>
<p>Clinton's campaign voluntarily released a list of her bundlers, so-called "Hillblazers" who have helped raise $100,000 or more in campaign cash for the primary election. Ten Hillblazers, or about 8 percent of them, hail from Texas, including Jose Villarreal, the San Antonio attorney who serves as her campaign treasurer, and U.S. Rep. <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/joaquin-castro/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Joaquin Castro</a>, whose twin brother is Juli&aacute;n Castro.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Under federal law, candidates are only required to release the names of their bundlers if they are lobbyists. The only bundler-lobbyist from Texas disclosed for the second quarter was former U.S. Rep. Tom Loeffler, who is raising money for Bush.&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>Disclosure: T. Boone Pickens, Red McCombs, Robert Rowling and Amber Mostyn are major donors to The Texas Tribune. Ross Perot Jr. and Vicki Truitt are donors to the Tribune. The Harold Simmons Foundation is a major donor to the Tribune, as is the Sid Richardson Foundation &mdash; the philanthropic arm of Ramona Bass's family.&nbsp;</em><em>A complete list of Tribune donors and sponsors can be viewed&nbsp;<a href="http://www.texastribune.org/support-us/donors-and-members/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">here</a>.</em></p>
Patrick Svitek and Ryan MurphyMon, 20 Jul 2015 17:09:38 -0500http://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/20/first-disclosures-offer-view-16-money-race-texas/?utm_source=texastribune.org&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20SectionsAnalysis: Don't Overlook Abbott's Fundraising Feathttp://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/20/analysis-dont-overlook-abbotts-fundraising-feat/?utm_source=texastribune.org&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections
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<p>Gov. <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/greg-abbott/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Greg Abbott</a>'s nine-day,&nbsp;$8.27 million fundraising demonstration last month not only dwarfed everyone else's &mdash; it astonished everyone else.</p>
<p>Other candidates and officeholders raised respectable amounts of money during the first half of the year &mdash;&nbsp;or what used to be respectable amounts.</p>
<p>Abbott might have changed the whole game.</p>
<p>This was a strange fundraising period, because it included a regular session of the Texas Legislature. Those sessions come with fundraising blackouts designed to prevent the appearance that political supporters were directly paying state officeholders for their votes and influence.</p>
<p>It&rsquo;s hard enough for officeholders to avoid such appearances when the votes and the money are kept months or weeks apart. And there have been moments where the stench of influence-peddling was particularly strong, like when Lonnie &ldquo;Bo&rdquo; Pilgrim, the northeast Texas chicken mogul, <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/2013/03/04/charitable-donations-political-benefits/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">handed out $10,000 checks</a> on the Senate floor during a 1989 special session on workers&rsquo; compensation legislation that had a potentially huge effect on his business.</p>
<p>Because of the campaign finance blackout, current state officeholders had only nine days of legal fundraising time during the first half of the year. After the governor&rsquo;s June 21 deadline for considering bills, the gates opened, the fundraising arms of the campaigns were cut loose, and the money started to flow.</p>
<p>Abbott&rsquo;s take, on average, was over $918,488 per day &mdash; or $38,270 per hour. That&rsquo;s a damn good rate, even for a lawyer and former judge who occupies the state&rsquo;s highest office.</p>
<p>He ended the first six months of the year with $17.8 million in the bank.</p>
<p>It would be fair for you to say that this is not news. Texas is a big state &mdash; a remarkably expensive place to run a political campaign or to keep a political operation alive between election cycles. But Abbott is taking things to another level. He cleared the post-Rick Perry field of gubernatorial candidates simply by displaying the size of his campaign treasury.</p>
<p>At mid-year 2012, Abbott had an $18 million bankroll. A year later, it was $27 million. One year ago, he had $35.6 million on hand.</p>
<p>No candidate for governor has ever had that sort of financial armory available to them, with the exception of Tony Sanchez Jr., the rich Democrat who spent tens of his own millions of dollars in a failed bid to oust Rick Perry in 2002.</p>
<p>With the big shots scared out of the race, three people you probably never heard of &mdash; and might not hear from again &mdash; challenged Abbott in the 2014 GOP primary, holding him to a scant 91.49 percent of the vote. He won the general election against Democrat <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/wendy-davis/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Wendy Davis</a> and three others with 59.27 percent of the vote.</p>
<p>The voters like him a lot. The money people like him even more. And here&rsquo;s why that&rsquo;s worth a look: Other prominent officeholders turned in really good numbers at mid-year, also working under that odd nine-day restraint. Lt. Gov. <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/dan-patrick/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Dan Patrick</a> raised $2.1 million and has $4.9 million on hand. House Speaker <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/joe-straus/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Joe Straus</a> raised a mere $282,385, but ended the period with $8.1 million in the bank. <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/directory/ken-paxton/?utm_source=texastribune.org&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections">Ken Paxton</a>, the state&rsquo;s attorney general, raised $395,821 and has $2.5 million on hand.</p>
<p>Perry, no slouch at campaign finance, typically did not show much in the mid-year fundraising reports in legislative session years. His best effort was in 2009, when he raised $4.2 million in nine days.</p>
<p>Abbott bested them all, but he also bested Greg Abbott. He has raised more money in a few of his reports, but not with those kinds of deadlines. During the second six months of 2013, for instance, Abbott raised $11.6 million. And he raised $11.1 million in the three and a half months between the 2014 primary and June 30 of that year.</p>
<p>Impressive, even for the then-attorney general who was an odds-on favorite to win four years of free housing in the Texas Governor&rsquo;s Mansion.</p>
<p>But it&rsquo;s even easier, the evidence would suggest, for the state&rsquo;s best political fundraiser to bring in money now that he is also the state&rsquo;s top elected official. The proof is in the numbers.</p>
Ross RamseyMon, 20 Jul 2015 06:00:00 -0500http://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/20/analysis-dont-overlook-abbotts-fundraising-feat/?utm_source=texastribune.org&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20The%20Texas%20Tribune%20Sections